Starship Layout Guide

Many times during my Star Wars Edge of the Empire games, a starship scene breaks out and everyone at the table tries to scramble and figure all this hooey out.

“How do I angle the deflector shields? What can my character do if she isn’t piloting or shooting? How much damage do the guns deal?” etc.

For my own games, I’ve sought out to remedy that jarring bump in game mechanics learning curve by providing an all-in-one starship sheet on a single 11″ x 17″ sheet of paper. It contains all of the information the Crew needs, roughly organized by location on the starship and/or the character’s role on the starship. It also integrates the basic statistics of the starship in question for a seamless flow of information.

In practice, this has worked amazingly well, with my players quickly grasping their available options and being able to weigh in on an informed decision when they take their character’s turn. Players tend to place their character’s token or mini directly on top of the box of text that represents the area of the ship that their characters are in.

My group has enthusiastically chosen a YT-1300 light freighter for their starting starship, however I can only imagine the joy that the owners of Firespray system patrol craft will feel now that some of the complexities of their starship’s weapons systems are streamlined. Moreover, I hope that the benefits of the Firespray, and its unique ability to Gain the Advantage due to its higher speed, will be better spelled out for all interested parties.